Endangered
by violaqueen93
Summary: To everyone's dismay, Percy and Jason take an almost instant dislike to one another, leading to questions about how they could possibly lead the demigods together. But Annabeth knows your enemy's enemy is your friend, and she's determined to make this work. But is an uneasy alliance enough to defeat Gaea and save the world?
1. Let's Be Friends Now

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns everything**

**Set after the first chapter of Mark of Athena. One shot for now, may continue it. Let me know!**

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The quietness unnerved her.

Hundreds of demigods, all armed to the teeth and in organized battle formation, watched in silence as Leo threw a rope ladder over the edge of the _Argo II_, the bottom rung hitting the ground with an audible thud. The campers from Half-Blood hill moved quietly about the deck, the silence from the ground making them uneasy. Every sound seemed magnified. From below came a horse's whinny.

Leo finished securing the ladder to the edge then turned with an expectant expression to Jason and Annabeth. "Well?"

Annabeth took a deep breath, her hands suddenly clammy as a cool wind swept across the deck. She could almost feel the barely restrained attacking power of the legion below them. If given the order, they could easily blast the _Argo II_ out of the sky. Swallowing quickly, she forced herself to concentrate on the situation at hand and not on the uneasy feeling she felt in the back of her mind. Things could get very bad, very quickly. "Jason. You should go down first."

From the corner of her vision she saw him turn his head toward her. "Are you sure? It might be better if the Greek saw…"

"Percy." Annabeth muttered under her breath. "His name is Percy. And no," she lifted her eyes to meet Jason's. "They trust you. They need to see that you're vouching for us before we all come down into their camp. If you don't make an appearance soon, they're going to think it's a trick.

He nodded, the movement quick. "That makes sense. But to convince them that it's really me…" Jason took two steps then launched himself over the railing, dropping out of sight.

Gasps came from the assembled Romans, and Annabeth ran to the railing and leaned over the side, swearing. What a show offy dimwit. He was going to get them all killed. Jason landed in a crouch on the ground, his purple praetor's cape billowing out around him, golden spear in hand. As she watched in incredulous outrage, he straightened up, surveying the crowd.

Even from 100 feet in the air she could see as a smile broke across his face. "Hey guys."

She groaned, hurrying over to the ladder as she stuffed her knife back into her belt. That idiot was going to blow the whole introduction. Even Piper was muttering under her breath, something along the lines of attention seeking moron. Giving the ropes a tug to make sure they were secure, Annabeth hopped over the side.

She glided down the ladder, feeling like she weighed nothing at all. The anger over Jason's ridiculous exhibition receded in the face of the growing anticipation she felt, at the certainty that after months of fruitless searching, Percy would be there. There was a reverberating twang through the rope, and in the thinnest of moments she looked to see Leo's face go paper white. With an odd swooping sensation in her stomach, Annabeth, and the ladder, tumbled toward the ground.

Annabeth screamed, the world spinning closer and closer at a terrifying rate. She heard shouts, explosions, a rush of water.

"Oof!" With a whump she landed squarely in Jason's arms, all the wind knocked out of her. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut, it took her several moments to realize Jason was talking to her. And that they were _floating._

"Annabeth, are you okay? Holy Jupiter, are…are you hurt? Do you-"

"I'm fine." With a deep breath, Annabeth forced her eyes open and immediately wished she hadn't. The ground was a dizzying distance away, 70 feet at minimum. The demigods milling around were tiny. She pressed her face into Jason's shoulder, her voice small. "Jason, can we go to the ground please now?"

He seemed to realize that levitating high above the ground wasn't what normal people did on an everyday basis. "Oh. Yeah. Are sure you're okay?" he asked as he slowly floated them toward the ground.

She nodded into his toga. "Mmmhmm." She wouldn't lift her face from Jason's shoulder, but her mind was racing. The rope had obviously been severed, an arrow judging from the vibration. It may have been an overzealous Roman soldier, lacking discipline and spooked by the sight of Annabeth climbing down from the _Argo II_. She shuddered inwardly. That one arrow could have sparked an entire assault on the warship. Someone must have forced the Romans back to order. That explained the shouts and explosions. But the water?

With a soft thud Jason touched back on the ground, Annabeth still cradled in his arms. She knew she should move, should get to her feet but she couldn't seem to loosen her fear driven stranglehold on Jason's toga. Distantly she heard a girl yelling at the Romans, a chastisement of some sort.

"_No! I don't care what you saw, Centurion, we are to hold our position! This is a disgrace of the First Cohort and the entire legion! No, silence, Octavian!"_

Annabeth concentrated on loosening the death grip she had on Jason's clothes, relaxing her fingers one by one. "Jason," she said faintly. "Jason, put me down."

He shifted uneasily, his anxious face blocking out the afternoon sun and casting her into shadow. "I don't know Annabeth, maybe-"

"Annabeth!" From somewhere to the side came a strangled cry, then a commanding bark. Annabeth's eyes widened at the sound. "Put her down!"

"Percy!"

The sound burst from her lungs like she'd been holding it in forever. Rolling to her side, Jason backed away in surprise as she caught herself on the dirt and was running, running until she collided with something tall and warm and utterly familiar.

Annabeth cried as she buried her face in Percy's chest, her arms pulling him closer against her. She gasped as she breathed in his heady scent, smelling faintly of ocean water, sweat, and toast. He pressed his face into her hair, arms wrapping securely around her.

It was only then that she noticed the trembling, and she looked up to see a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "Gods, Annabeth, are you okay? I tried to do something but there was no water and-" He shot a glare over her shoulder to where the legion stood, his hands still shaking. "They started to fire at you and you were falling and-"

"Percy. _Percy._" The tone of her voice made him return his eyes to hers. Gently, she pushed a few stray strands of black hair off his forehead. "I'm alright. Really."

Percy visibly relaxed. "Thank the gods Annabeth, I thought…I thought…" He shook his head and simply squeezed her into a tight hug.

She sighed, snuggling deeper into his arms, though she wanted something more. A thought suddenly struck her and she pulled back, gazing into the familiar sea green eyes. She opened her mouth uncertainly. "Percy…I…do…you do you remember me, right?" A wave of dread swept over her. What if his memory was still gone? What if he had no idea who she was? What if-

Percy cut her frantic mental questioning short as a broad smile crossed his face and he pulled her closer for another hug. "Are you kidding me Wise Girl? Of course I remember you." With a tip of a finger, he tilted her chin up so he could kiss her, his lips warm and sweet. He drew back and hugged her again, whispering in her ear. "I could never forget you."

Tears cropped up in her eyes, and she pulled his face back around so she could kiss him again. He responded enthusiastically, one hand on the back of her head, the other clutching her hand tightly between them. From behind came a dry cough.

Pulling apart, Annabeth flushed crimson at Jason's impatient face as she realized the display they were putting on. "Oh um Percy, this is Jason," she said breathlessly, indicating where Jason stood with a slight frown across his face. "Son of Zeus- no sorry, I mean son of Jupiter. He was the other one Hera took."

Jason and Percy studied each other in silence for several minutes, the tension thick enough to cut through. Though at first glance they were polar opposites, but after gazing anxiously at the two of them, Annabeth saw how alike they really were. Though Percy had black hair, green eyes, and a Mediterranean complexion while Jason was pale, all blond and blue eyes, the way they carried themselves was exactly the same. From the set of their shoulders to the wary way their bodies shifted in response to any possible threats, they were identical. Both were tall, broad shouldered, and to Annabeth's dismay, extremely suspicious of one another. The subtle way Percy moved to shield her with his body was not lost on Annabeth. Finally Jason extended a hand. "Praetor."

Jason's tone was carefully neutral, but Annabeth saw Percy's eyes narrow slightly. "Praetor," he replied in a voice that was equally light but just as clipped, gripping Jason's hand. They let go extremely quickly, a beat of awkward silence settling once more. Percy spoke again. "Guess I have to thank you," he said grudgingly, squeezing Annabeth's shoulders.

Jason's eyes were like flint. "Not a problem. Seeing as though I could save her and all."

Annabeth tugged Percy back as he made to take a step closer to Jason, his muscles rigid. "Percy!" she hissed. He stopped, but the two continued to stare at one another with unblinking intensity.

A girl wearing a purple cape identical to the ones Jason and Percy wore took a deliberate step between them, one hand on the sword strapped to her side. Her voice was careful, slow and measured. "If you'll follow me back into the Senate House, Jason, Annabeth, the Council is in session."

Annabeth recognized her voice as the one who had been yelling at the legion before. Jason finally broke his gaze at Percy to nod slowly at the purple caped girl before striding into the building, followed by several others in white bed sheet togas. The girl, who Annabeth assumed was another praetor of the camp, gave one swift glance at Percy before filing in with the rest of them.

Percy's grip on her shoulders tightened. "I don't trust him." he said in a low voice as people streamed around them. His eyes were hooded, distrust and suspicion evident in their piercing gaze. Annabeth's grip tightened on Percy's waist. _Best friends or enemies._ Luckily Thalia had turned out to be the former rather than the latter, but judging from the expression on Percy's face…She gulped, allowing Percy to steer her into the Senate House. It seemed that, this time, the children of Zeus and Poseidon would _not _get along well after all.


	2. Prepare for Battle?

**The fabulous Rick Riordan owns everything! **

**This was orignally longer, but I split it up into two pieces. I'm not quite sure about the writing in this chapter, it still seems rough and unfinished. Maybe I'll do a rewrite when I have the time, but I wanted to post it for all the people that asked me to continue! **

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The first thing she noticed was the columns. Soaring, reaching up to the ceiling, perfectly preserved. Out of instinct Annabeth reached for the sketchpad that she kept to map out plans for Mount Olympus's renovations. Meeting empty air, she frowned.

Percy laughed quietly in her ear, nudging her slightly to keep moving. "Impressive, I know."

"It's amazing." Annabeth breathed, moving along the walkway toward the front. She kept her face turned toward the ceiling, studying the mosaics and columns. "Look at the size of these columns…I wonder how much the roof weighs? And the craftsmanship at the top! Percy, this is incredible!"

Her pocket buzzed, and Annabeth automatically stopped and fumbled around, bringing out the small communicator she had thrown in just before she started climbing. With an exasperated sigh, Percy shepherded her to the side of the walkway and shielded her from the crowd as she flipped it open, Leo's face filling the screen.

She had to lean in to hear over the din of the still filling Senate House, Leo talking in his usual rapid fire fashion. "Annabeth! Holy Hephaestus, what's going on down-"

"Move it punk." Annabeth rolled her eyes as a protesting Leo was pushed to the side, Clarisse taking the communicator from him. She looked off screen, talking to someone on the _Argo II_. "Leave it. _I said leave it. _There you go." She turned back to Annabeth, her face grim. "So. We need to come in to kick some Roman butt or what?"

"It's okay Clarisse," Percy interrupted from over her shoulder, talking loudly to be heard over the chattering crowd. "She's with me. Hey, _move around_," he said angrily to someone trying to shove them out of the way.

"Percy!" Though Clarisse's scowl didn't budge from her face, Annabeth saw her eyes light up. "Err…punk. See you didn't get killed or anything." From behind her came several hoots, Travis and Connor Stoll grinning and waving excitedly before being chased away by one of Clarisse's siblings that was howling threats of a painful death.

Percy smiled, extending one arm out further to keep Annabeth from being jostled by several passing senators. "Yep, I'm still here."

"Well aren't we so lucky to have you back. Are you really wearing a bed sheet Jackson? You look stupid in that thing by the way."

"Listen Clarisse," Percy's smile faded from his face, his voice growing serious. His eyes flickered over Annabeth's head at some unknown object, his face tightening before he returned his gaze to the screen. His voice was lower. "Get some of the others on backup. Just in case."

Clarisse's eyes narrowed and she made some quick hand motions to some people off screen before turning back. Her voice was flat. "Are the Romans preparing to attack?" Annabeth saw several of the others hurrying about the deck, carrying armor, weapons, ambrosia and other battlefield necessities. Malcolm and Piper seemed to be heading up the mobilization effort, directing campers every which way.

"No!" Percy's retort came out a little louder than intended, several Romans giving them funny looks. Percy grimaced and lowered his voice again. "No, but doesn't hurt to be prepared. Get Will?"

"Will?" For a second the utmost confusion crossed her face, mirrored on Annabeth's. Why would Percy need Will? "Umm, sure. Will!" Clarisse shouted.

The screen tilted as Clarisse handed it off to someone. Will Solace appeared, his brown hair sticking up in every direction, arms full of arrows and Band-Aids. He looked out of breath. "What's up Percy?"

"Will, can you grab some of your stuff and come down here?" Percy said firmly, ignoring Annabeth's confused frown. "I need your help."

Will looked as bewildered as Annabeth felt. He shrugged. "Yea, umm sure, let me get my bow and I'll be right there."

Annabeth started to speak, her mouth forming the words when Percy squeezed her hand, cutting her off with his own words. "Great. Just come into the Senate House. First row."

Will nodded and handed the screen back to Clarisse. She looked mystified, but too busy to worry much about it. Even as they watched several campers came up to ask her something. "Anything else we should know about?"

"No, thanks Clarisse, I'll let you know if I need you guys."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Yea whatever punk." The screen winked off.

Annabeth opened her mouth, a million questions on her lips but Percy put a firm hand on her waist, guiding her forward. "No time, no time." he muttered. No time? She pulled away from him with a heave, arms crossed in front of her. Percy looked at her with surprise on his face. Though there was a grumble from people trying to find a place in the crowded Senate House, Annabeth refused to budge.

"No, you're going to explain now." She insisted, her gray eyes flashing. She'd be darned if she was about to try to negotiate an alliance with these Romans without knowing why Percy seemed so anxious. "Why did you tell-"

"Annabeth!" Percy grabbed her arm, tugging her to a shadowy alcove by a column. He whirled to face her. "Can you be a little quieter?" he hissed, his eyes darting over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth whispered angrily at him, her arms still crossed. "Telling Clarisse to have _backup_ ready? And why does Will need to be-"

"Shhh!" Moving forward, Percy clapped a hand over her mouth. She promptly wrenched it down and shoved the heels of her hands into his chest, the impact rocking him back on his heels. "Okay fine. Look. You see that kid over there? Tall, skinny, light hair?"

Annabeth peered over to where Percy was pointing at a cluster of Roman senators. One of them was gesticulating wildly, shooting suspicious glances over where Jason stood talking quietly with the purple cape girl. "In the toga? Yea."

"That's Octavian." From the way Percy's face darkened Annabeth surmised the skinny senator was _not _their friend. "He's the augur, which is kind of like our Oracle. He's angry that I was made praetor instead of him."

_Octavian. _Where had she heard that name before? The girl in the purple cape had been shouting…Annabeth hissed in a breath. "He's the one that shot down the ladder."

Percy's face tightened, his sea green eyes sharpening. "He's up to something. Sorry about the backup thing, but you were _falling…"_

"It's fine Percy," Annabeth said, her mind racing at a million miles an hour, the crowded Senate House fading to the back of her mind. So that was why Percy seemed so on edge and had Clarisse ready the rest of the campers. Someone had purposefully tried to kill her. Well, maybe not kill but at the very least scare her. And from the way Percy was acting, it was pretty clear that this wasn't the first time he'd had to deal with this Octavian's schemes. Something must have happened between them before. It was also apparent that Octavian would not be helpful in establishing an alliance with Camp Half-Blood either, and Annabeth internally groaned. It would be tricky enough to speak before the Roman Senate without any openly hostile people, but it seems that that idea just went out the window. Now she would have to figure out how to convince the Senate to listen to her and not to one of their own. Maybe Jason could-

Light pressure on her chin broke off her chain of thought as Percy tipped her face up, one finger under her chin. "Hey," he said softly, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You're zoning out there."

Annabeth stared at him for a moment, and then it registered. He was really here. After months of searching, Percy was standing only inches away from her. Emotion welled up in her. "I've missed you Percy!" Throwing her arms around him, Percy staggered back a step before chuckling and hugging her tightly. He must have realized the direction her thoughts took her, because he drew back and smiled at her before leaning in closer.

A loud gong sounded and Percy quietly cursed in Ancient Greek. "I have to get to the front. I swear I'll explain everything afterwards. Come on." He put an arm around her shoulder and steered her to the front row before giving her an apologetic look and climbing to sit next to the purple caped girl. Annabeth took a seat next to Jason, who seemed angry about something.

Up front, the girl in the purple cape kept trying to get everyone's attention. "Attention. Attention!"

Jason suddenly stood, a blast of lightning arcing from his spear to the legion's eagle with an ear splitting crash. "Shut up!" he roared.

The entire building was stunned into silence, the eagle still smoking slightly. Annabeth sat rigid. This was a great way to start negotiations.


	3. Wow Thanks Guys

**Disclaimer: this site is dedicated to fanfiction, why would I claim to own anything?**

**Changing things up, this is in Jason's POV**

**Got some ideas for this story? Get at me.**

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Jason's hands trembled slightly as he sat down, and he internally cursed himself. When was the last time he had lost control like that? The lightning had been an accident- all he wanted to do was bang his spear on the floor but it turned out the force of the blow had summoned the electricity. He'd have to be more careful in the future. If the eagle hadn't been there, attracting the lightning, he could have seriously hurt someone.

He became aware of the quietness that had settled over the Senate House, everyone gaping at him and his stupid golden spear. Well, he could do something to make them stare a little less. Tossing the spear in the air, it transformed back into the golden coin which he snatched as it fell, depositing it neatly into his pocket. With a final glare, everyone broke their gazes, low murmurs and shufflings breaking out until Reyna finally stood and began to talk.

Her speech was nothing, just formal welcoming of the Greeks, the usual spiel about the legion and Jason soon found his attention wandering. To his right he could feel Annabeth's swift glances at him, no doubt curious and a bit annoyed at his latest flamboyancy. Truth be told, he had been a little dramatic, jumping over the edge of the Argo II like that. He had justified it to himself, reasoning that seeing him survive an impossibly high jump had to convince the legion that he was definitely the Jason that they knew, but in reality, he knew he was showing off the tiniest bit.

Why shouldn't he show off though? Annabeth looked at him pointedly as he let out a noncommittal grunt, shifting slightly in the uncomfortable seats. He had just been dumped into enemy territory, forced on a dangerous quest with two demigods he barely knew, and returned home triumphant. Piper and Leo had turned out to be the best sort of people to be in trouble with, certainly, but that didn't make the accomplishment any less laudable. He hadn't even known who he was! Snatches were coming back to him, flashes of feelings and sounds, but a total recall had yet to occur.

It frustrated him to no end, to not be able to remember the faces of everyone that had greeted him, the uncertain tightness in his chest when he first laid eyes on Reyna. She hadn't made any move to indicate that they were anything more than friends, but he found himself noticing small things about her, the stiff set of her shoulders and the tightness of her mouth, that suggested otherwise. He couldn't have read her that easily unless they had been close.

It occurred to him that the unfamiliarity was the source of his irritation. What had he expected? Everything to be exactly the same, his memory to come rushing back as he first glimpsed Camp Jupiter through the clouds? He snorted, mentally chastising himself. Of course things would be different. They had just fought a battle, for Jupiter's sake! Anger, remorse, and self-loathing swept through him before he could stamp it out. He should have been there. Leo's flying contraption reconnaissance things had caught the whole battle as it was occurring, and he sat and watched the whole thing, fear filling his heart as he realized the legion was hopelessly outnumbered, relief as reinforcements had arrived. The whole thing had turned out well in the end, but still. He should have been leading the legion, fighting the giant, protecting his people. As praetor-

Oh wait. His eyes narrowed as he bit back a curse, staring up to the front where the son of Neptune sat in his seat. They had replaced him. With a Greek no less! Jason didn't know why he didn't like the dude- he hadn't done anything wrong to him. All he knew was that there was something off about Jackson, sitting there on Jason's seat with a smug look on his arrogant face-

With a start Jason realized he was clenching his golden coin tightly in his fist, as though he was about to get his sword and charge the front table. Gingerly, he relaxed his grip, glancing around the Senate House to see if anyone had noticed. He'd have to work on that temper thing. Wouldn't want another blast of lightning now.

Reyna was still talking formalities, and Jason let her voice go to the back of his mind. He finally had to acknowledge that part of his ire at Jackson was due to jealousy. Everything had worked out so perfectly for the Greek. He got his memory back, seemed perfectly at ease in the legion, was named _praetor._ He didn't have any confusion about whether or not Annabeth was his girlfriend, or come back to his own camp to find out he'd been replaced. He found himself becoming angry. This wasn't fair, any of it. He didn't ask to become an ambassador to the Greek camp, didn't want to be taken from the legion. The legion had been his home, his family, and well now he wasn't sure what it was to him anymore. A true family wouldn't so much as kick him out, would they?

Dammit, why were they all so quick to move on? He was the one who led them on Mt. Othrys, who took down Krios. Couldn't they see how he was willing to die for every last one of them? Seeing Jackson in praetor's robes had been a kick in the face, but nothing compared to the conversation he had with Reyna before the meeting commenced. He had gone to sit in his chair, when she stopped him. Turning pink, she explained how he was no longer the occupant of that seat, how Jackson was the active praetor and how wouldn't he please just sit in the front row until they sorted everything out? He wanted to argue with her, to claim the seat that was rightfully his, but he knew they had more pressing matters to attend to first. A public argument between himself and Reyna was the last thing they needed. So, with a stony face, he had gone to sit in the front row.

He sighed, looking around him. Just another visitor now, here to listen to the praetor's talk then.

"Ulpp..'scuse me, sorry….sorry. Excuse me"

Jason looked up at Will's hushed voice, his eyes scanning the crowd until he located the healer making his way down the front row trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. He was still several yards down as Jason leaned in close to Annabeth. "What's Will doing here?"

"I'm not sure," she whispered back. "Percy told him to come down here for something." Just then Will came up, taking the seat next to Annabeth. After a nod of greeting, Jason leaned back, his mind whizzing. Why would Jackson want Will Solace here? The kid was a talented healer and archer but…Wait. Healing and archery? Naturally, since Will was Apollo's son. So why would Jackson need a son of Apollo? Jason took a slow look over the crowd, zeroing in on one person in particular.

In a flash everything made sense. A low chuckle bubbled up inside him before he squelched it down, trying to remain silent. Jackson was taking a huge risk with his plan, but Jason grudgingly acknowledged its brilliancy. If it succeeded Octavian would lose a lot of influence within the Senate. Hmmm. Seemed like Octavian was a thorn in Jackson's side too.

Well, he shouldn't have it that easy.


End file.
